The automatic loading system of the present invention is extremely advantageous for use in the newspaper industry. Newspapers pass through three basic stages before reaching the home consumer, typically referred to as the press room, mailroom and circulation stages. During the press room or printing stage, the newspapers are printed, cut and folded whereupon they are delivered to the mailroom for counting and bundling wherein the bundle signatures are stacked into bundles of predetermined counts, typically selected according to the requirements of the final destination.
Completed bundles are delivered from the mailroom facility into the circulation phase in which bundles are typically delivered from the mailroom into trucks by a conveyor, the bundles typically being removed manually from the conveyor and loaded into the truck cargo space.
Inserts, such as, for example, advertising inserts are typically placed in each newspaper. This is quite often the case for weekend newspapers and especially Sunday newspapers. The number of inserts is very often quite large and the size of the inserts typically vary and also deviate from the size of the newspaper. In addition, the inserts are often placed into the newspaper in a haphazard manner with the result that the major side surfaces of the newspaper assume a bulging shape which significantly deviates from a desirable pair of flat, substantially parallel surfaces. Bundles of a plurality of such signatures, when wrapped or tied together assume a shape which significantly deviates from a rectangular parallelepiped shape and, in fact, take on a shape somewhat similar to that of a watermelon, such wrapped bundles of newspapers containing numerous inserts typically being referred to as "watermelons". The inserts are usually placed into the newspapers at the request of local merchants or retailers to concentrate their advertising in those areas within a reasonable distance from their locations. Thus, a newspaper intended for distribution over a large area may contain different inserts according to its final destination within its distribution area.
As a result, utilization of manual stacking operations in which individual bundles are manually removed from a delivery conveyor and placed into the cargo space of a delivery van yields stacks of bundles which are unstable due to their "watermelon" shape.
In addition, manual loading techniques are slow and tedious and, since they are highly labor intensive, significantly increase the operating costs for the circulation phase.
Techniques which have been developed to reduce the circulation phase operating costs include the development of loading carts each of which are comprised of cage-like sidewalls mounted upon a platform provided with casters for enhancing portability. At least one side surface of the cart is provided with a hingedly mounted door which is unlocked and opened for the purpose of receiving bundles. When the cart is loaded, the door is swung closed and locked enabling the cart to be loaded (i.e. pushed) into the cargo space. The carts are dimensioned so as to make the most economic use of the total cargo space volume. The carts are preferably of a box-like shape and are capable of receiving a plurality of layers of newspaper bundles, each layer comprising a plurality of bundles. In one example the cart is designed to receive a layer of four bundles arranged in two-by-two fashion (i.e. two rows of two bundles per row), for example, or six bundles arranged in three-by-two fashion (i.e. three rows of two bundles per row or two rows of three bundles per row), the cart having a height capable of accommodating of the order of five or six such layers.
The sidewalls of the cart are sufficiently sturdy to support the bundles stacked therein without danger of toppling over even in the event that "watermelon-shaped" bundles are stacked therein.
When the truck reaches the final destination, the carts are removed from the cargo space and unloaded.
Although the above technique makes efficient use of the cargo space and simplifies the manual operations somewhat as well as assuring the integrity of the layers of bundles contained within each cart, the above technique, although a significant improvement upon the first-described manual technique, is nevertheless highly labor intensive and further remains a slow and tedious procedure.
It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide a novel, substantially fully automated loading technique which significantly increases and improves the loading time and efficiency which leads to a number of improvements which are also obtained as a direct result of the automated system.
The automated system of the present invention is characterized by comprising a ramp conveyor which receives signature bundles from a conventional delivery conveyor set at a typical height of the order of three feet above a ground or floor surface, the ramp conveyor delivering signature bundles to a first roller platform assembly positioned above a loading location adapted to receive a cart.
The platform roller assembly is comprised of a plurality of independently operable power roller sections arranged in tandem fashion, each roller section being capable of accommodating a signature bundle. The number of roller sections provided is dependent upon the capacity of the carts receiving the bundles and is sufficient to receive the number of bundles found in each row making up one bundle layer within the cart as well as additional roller sections sufficient to act as a buffer storage for storing an equal number of additional bundles thereby doubling the system operating speed.
Each roller section is equipped with sensing means for sensing the presence of a bundle thereon whereupon the power delivered to a roller section receiving a bundle is turned off after a predetermined delay.
When the roller sections have received a quantity of bundles sufficient to complete a row, an automatic pusher pushes the bundles making up the completed row in a direction transverse to the delivery direction and onto a split platform assembly comprised of a pair of slidable platform sections, each preferably incorporating a plurality of free-wheeling rollers.
Initially the split platform assembly is in the closed position. The pusher means pushes a first row of bundles onto the far end of the split platform adjacent to which is an end wall member which prevents the first row of bundles from being pushed beyond the far end of the split platform. The pusher means rapidly returns to the start position, whereupon a number of bundles sufficient to complete the next row is moved onto the roller sections from which bundles are delivered to the split platform assembly, additional bundles being delivered to the buffer roller assemblies for temporary storage thereon.
As soon as the bundles reach the roller sections aligned with the pusher means, the pusher means moves the bundles from the roller sections onto the split platform assembly to complete one layer of bundles. The pusher assembly moves approximately half the distance in delivering the second row of bundles as compared with the length of travel experienced by the pusher means in delivering the first row of bundles whereupon the split platform assembly now contains a quantity of bundles sufficient to form one layer for delivery to a cart.
At this time, the split platform assembly is operated, causing the slidable platform halves to move apart abruptly, allowing the bundles to drop into a cart which has been indexed to the loading position. The bundles which are dropped from the split platform fall only a short distance onto a platform comprised of a plurality of tines arranged to form a fork-like platform adapted to be reciprocated into the cart being loaded, the fork-like platform being arranged with its tines interspersed with the vertically aligned spaced parallel bars of an adjacent cart sidewall, the interrelationship between the cage-like bars and the fork-like tines providing non-interfering clearance therebetween.
When the bundles making up a layer have been collected upon the fork-like platform, the platform is indexed downwardly a distance equivalent to one layer, whereupon the aforementioned operations are repeated to load additional layers of bundles within the cart.
Alternatively, the system control, by way of a software routine, may index each layer of bundles with the vertically movable fork-like platform to its lowest position (just above the previous layer) and then retract the tines carrying the layer of bundles to be "dropped" on top of the platform of the cart, or the previous layer, as the case may be.
When the desired number of layers have been deposited in the cart, the fork-like platform is withdrawn from the cage-like cart, the bars of the cage sidewall cooperating to provide a "scraping" action, the bars serving to remove or "scrape" the layers of bundles stacked upon the fork-like platform from the platform as it is withdrawn from the cart, the layers of bundles removed from the platform being retained within the cart and being stacked in substantially neat fashion. Even assuming the bundles being stacked are "watermelon-shaped" the cart nevertheless serves to retain stacks of signature bundles contained therein in a substantially neat and compartmentalized manner, which is especially important for delivery groupings wherein the contents of each cart may be of a particular bundle count and are scheduled for delivery to different destinations.
When the loading of the cart is completed, drive means moves the loaded cart from the loading position towards the next station, which is typically the truck loading dock. Simultaneously therewith the next empty cart is advanced and indexed to the cart loading position. The carts are moved along guide tracks to facilitate alignment in one direction. Sensor means are provided to accurately align the cart at the loading position whereupon the initial operating steps are repeated namely, the fork-like platform is reinserted into the cart located at the loading position and positioned near the top, open end of the cart, bundles are advanced along the delivery and ramp conveyors to the forwardmost roller sections (if they have not already been delivered thereto), and a row of bundles is then pushed onto the split platform, these steps being repeated for the present and each subsequent cart to be loaded.
Each cart is preferably provided with either a fixed or a variable coding means which may respectively comprise a bar code pattern unique to each cart or a changeable memory means such as a RAM. Electronic sensor means identifies each cart and associates the data bundles stored therein with the cart identification developing a data group in which the number of bundles and their destination are associated with the cart number.
As one example, each cart delivered to the loading dock may be sensed by a hand-held unit providing identification of the bundle quantity and destination to facilitate delivery of each cart to the proper truck.
The carts preferably have one sidewall comprised of hingedly mounted double doors which are each independently lockable and releasable enabling the contents of each cart to be unloaded in stages. Although it is preferable that each cart be provided with sidewalls and doors which are of an open, cage-like design, it is necessary to provide only one such cage-like sidewall to facilitate unimpeded entry and removal of the fork-like platform from the cart. In the event that all of the sidewalls are comprised of a plurality of vertically aligned bars, horizontal reinforcing members are provided along at least three of the sidewalls to provide a cart with adequate structural strength.
In the preferred embodiments, the carts are designed to stack five or six layers of bundles with each layer made up of either two rows of two bundles per row or three rows of two bundles per row. However, a greater or lesser number of bundles per layer and layers per cart may be utilized to accommodate the particular application.
The loading system of the present invention improves efficiency and productivity to such a large extent that the same truck may be utilized to complete two or more deliveries in the time required to complete one delivery or less using prior art techniques thus significantly reducing capital expenditures for the number of trucks required as well as significantly reducing direct expenditures for personnel, fuel costs, and other related overhead expenditures.
Although the present invention has been described as being extremely advantageous for use in the distribution of newspapers and particularly newspaper bundles, it should be understood that the system is capable of loading other types of packages and/or boxes into the holding carts described herein and the packages need not be of uniform size although it is preferred that the packages be limited to a maximum size.